Spending cuts will hurt here

July 3, 2011

You don't have to be an economist to know that the federal government has to cut back on its spending.

The U.S. reached the $14.3 trillion limit in May, a month when the government took in $175 billion in revenue and spent almost $233 billion. The government faces several payments in August that will necessitate a higher borrowing limit, according to U.S. Treasury officials, including about $23 billion in Social Security payments that go out Aug. 3 and a $30 billion interest payment that's due Aug. 15.

Like I said, you don't have to be an economist, but it might help because those numbers are so large we can't possibly comprehend the depth of our nation's debt. In layman's terms, all that matters is that now - after decades of excessive domestic and international spending, military interventions and aid, and our recent financial bailouts and stimulus spending, along with a few natural disasters - the bills are coming due and we don't have the money to pay.

Despite all of the political posturing in Washington, D.C., the Democrats and the Republicans both know overall spending needs to be cut. Problem is, no one can agree on what to cut, because everyone has special and personal interests they want to protect.

In this whole mess, that self-interest is probably the easiest point to understand. Before we start pointing fingers at Washington, D.C., and calling for cuts, we better look around the Eastern Panhandle and decide what we are willing to sacrifice.

Cutting federal government spending is the right answer, but it isn't going to be easy. What are we willing to sacrifice?

If you're sitting there this morning thinking, "Hey, wait a minute. I paid my taxes. I didn't create this problem, why should I sacrifice," sorry, that argument doesn't really hold water, especially here in West Virginia.

Setting aside the facts that, as Americans, we are responsible for our "elected" government and, as West Virginians, we equally benefit from national security spending - everything from spending to maintaining the military to sending foreign aid to stabilize regions and reduce the chances of harmful conflicts and terrorism - there is a much bigger liability.

Folks, we have around 2 million people living in the panhandles and mountains of this wild and wonderful state. That's not a lot of people when it comes to collecting tax dollars. If it wasn't for federal spending in West Virginia, we would experience a lot more one-lane roads, mostly dirt, and outhouses.

Without massive federal funding, West Virginia would not have been able to complete the many highway and infrastructure projects that have improved the quality of life in our state since World War II. We have gotten a lot more than we gave. West Virginia has traditionally ranked in the top five among states receiving the highest percentage of federal state dollars in comparison to federal taxes paid. Our late Sen. Robert C. Byrd earned a national reputation for bringing home the pork. Even in the last decade, few state projects, or even community and local projects, have been completed without federal spending.

We all agree it's time for America to cut back on federal spending, but are we willing to join in the effort? Are we willing to slow down because we're driving on rougher roads. Are we willing to pay a toll to maintain our section of a road? Are we willing to volunteer at the school concession stand to raise needed money because federal grants are gone? We may have built our homes and businesses, but the federal spending helped build just about everything connecting to them.

On a personal level, are we willing to accept a cut in Social Security benefits, to pay more for our medicines, to accept that a medical treatment is too expensive, to go without something that had been provided?

Are we, as Americans and West Virginians, ready for this tightening of the nation's financial belt? It's easy to say "yes" when you read about government spending, but it's harder to voice your opinion when the belt is tightening around your waist. Many people calling for cuts today will be calling for help tomorrow. Cutting spending is clearly necessary, but we're not going to be happy when it happens.